British Jets Bomb ex-Saddam Palace in Mosul

Royal Air Force (RAF) Tornado jets have participated in a major coalition air strike on Saddam’s former palace in Mosul, used by Daesh as a headquarters and training establishment for foreign terrorists.

In Mosul, extensive surveillance had established that Daesh were using a palace, built by the former dictator Saddam Hussein, as a major headquarters and training centre for foreign terrorist recruits.

The complex, sat in a large secure compound next to the Tigris, included not just the main palace building, used as an accommodation and meeting venue by the terrorists, but also a number of more discreet outbuildings used for command and control, training, internal security and repression.

A large coalition air package drawn from several nations conducted a carefully coordinated attack on the complex on the afternoon of Monday 1 August.

The British contribution was a pair of Tornados, armed with the largest guided bombs in the RAF’s inventory, the 2000lb Enhanced Paveway III, which were used to target first the headquarters buildings, then a security centre. Initial analysis indicates that the coalition mission was successful.